Lectures on Poverty

“O son of Adam, I asked you for food and you fed Me not. He will say: O Lord, and how should I feed You when You are the Lord of the worlds? He will say: Did you not know that My servant So-and-so asked you for food and you fed him not? Did you not know that had you fed him you would surely have found that (the reward for doing so) with Me?” (Muslim) – Visiting the sick – Attending to the needs of needy – Helping the Helpless – Social service & feeding parallels

Mufti Ismail Menk discusses how we as Muslims are destroying ourselves and how we should come together putting aside our differences for the betterment of the ummah. Lecture was delivered at the Ummah Welfare Trust ‘Cries of the Ummah’ London conference at Edmonton Islamic Centre on Sunday 19th May 2013.

Shaykh Hamza Yusuf reflects on the nature of Islam as a way of life that affirms the sanctity of private property and free enterprise while avoiding the excesses of capitalism, yet, demands social concern and responsibility while rejecting the extremes of communism. In this stimulating lecture, Shaykh Hamza looks at what an alert and serious Muslim community can offer to our country to help it escape the dangerous political and economic trends that threaten not only the stability of our society but, indeed, global peace, security and stability.

One of the slogans of the Occupy Movement is, “We are the ninety-nine percent.” In this provocative lecture, Dr. Abdul Hakim Quick examine this slogan in light of global realities, with specific reference to his time in Africa, to show how North Americans, rich or poor, collectively are the global 1%. We are the beneficiaries of schemes of economic and political exploitation and oppression. What is our collective responsibility to our less fortunate brothers and sisters in humanity? This is just one of the many questions Dr. Quick will address in this presentation.

In this lecture, Imam Siraj Wahhaj discusses what it means to be a Muslim man in an inner-city environment characterized by poverty, crime and the other well-known challenges existing in the typical American urban environment. He not only discusses what is needed from our brothers, but how he was able to lead an urban renewal scheme around Masjid al Taqwa and his vision for the future of the Masjid and the coming role of Muslims in our urban communities.